This is a brilliant historical mystery. This book is heartbreaking and harrowing. The story is told in a a dual timeline. It is compelling and gripping.

I loved the structure of this book. The characters were believable and their personalities were relatable throughout the story. The plot itself was harrowing and upsetting at times, but so interesting and beautifully written. I can’t wait to read more from this author in the future. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for a chance to read and review this book.

Kayte Nunn. What an incredible author! Can´t believe I´ve never read one of her books until now but I´m so glad I have come across her.

Instantly fell in love with this book from page one. Quite a tough subject but incredibly thought provoking and sensitively down. Fantastic storyline, past and present coming together. Characters perfectly written. I seriously can´t praise this book enough!

Highly recommend you read this one.

My thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy in return for an honest review.

I found this book to be very moving and my emotions were all over the place. It is a crime thriller with heart that describes the pleasure and safety of feeling at home until something unimaginable happens.

Title: The Only Child
Written by: Kayte Nunn
Pub Date: 16 Feb 2023
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group, Orion
Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Historical Fiction | Mystery & Thrillers


Unlike most of my reviews I had decided just to cut to the critic part.

Unfortunately I believe Nunn has not pulled off what she intended to. While I can see where they were going with this I feel it failed to deliver.

The only thing that truly shocked me was where Diana got her name. I don't know who much research Nunn did for the book but it felt as if the behavior in the Mother and Baby home was very white washed. Never in all my reading has a nun offered pain relief to any of the women.

Yes Nunn does include horrific moments but they are few and far between. The idea that a Nun would tell the girls to rest if unwell or in pain is laughable. The Nuns going out in bad weather to fetch the food delivers?! I'm sorry but I have never read anything like it. Yes it is fiction but Nunn almost makes the place sound like a holiday resort.

Writing that the girls/women sitting in a lovely sitting room to darn or knit as if they were free to do whatever they wanted. And put on "light duties" after giving birth.

On several occasions Nunn tries to say that while this "women" got themselves into trouble they didn't deserve to be in a home. This completely over looks the fact that due to a lack of knowledge, coerced and force. most of the women in those places were raped.

In the Acknowledgements Nunn does mention the real life "women" who were sent to these places. The author even takes the time to mention that the majority of the women who went to these hell wholes were white. Yet she doesn't take the time to explain that the POC women who found themselves in this position often "diapered" and (at least in my opinion) that was because the were often killed. Now I'm not saying what is worse of better I'm just saying she could have mentioned it. Nunn also seemed to glaze right over the fact that Native girls from America and Canada who were pregnant were sent to residential schools. Which by all accounts were just as bad if not worse.

While the writing it's self flowed I felt that it was quite obvious who was telling Frances to go away or else. I didn't guess how but the why was given to us from the get go. I also hated how Ingrid's Alzheimer cleared up anytime the story needed it to.

How Frances stopped to think that being with Joe while looking for her missing loved one would have been romantic if it were not for the fact someone from her family might be dead *rolls eyes*

And the last few chapters?! the book was long enough, if anything more of the past would have been nice but did we really need such a neat bow? I didn't care about the granny doing up the Inn. That was such a toxic positivity thing! A very . "lets make it something better than it was" attitude why not have it leveled.

In short I will not be reading Nunn again.

I suggest that those who have a genuine interest in places like this read books by survivors. Most of my own reading is largely based on Catholic run establishments in Ireland as that is where I am from but here are some suggestions.

+ Irelands Magdalene Laundries by James M Smith
+ Child Sexual Abuse and The Catholic Church by Irish Bishop's Conference
+Founded on Fear by Peter Tyerll
+Suffer the little Children by Frances Reilly
+Suffer the little Children by Mary Raftery
+Beyond Belief by Colm a, O'Gorman
+Beyond Belief by David A Yallop
+Fear of the Collar by Patrick Touher
+Song for a raggy Boy by Patrick Galvin
Boy 11963 by John Cameron
The Child Sex Scandel by Joseph Valente
+Evelyn by Evelyn Doyle
Belonging by Catherine Corless
Where are You Really From by Tim Brannigan
Scars that Run Deep by Patrick Touher
+The Girl in The Tunnel by Maureen Sullivan
Philomina/ The Lost Child of Philomina Lee
My name is Bridget by Alison O'Rielly

I have red those with a + and suggest you research stories local to you.

In short I will not be reading Nunn again.

This was a very interesting read for me, it told a tale that from what we know of our past could quite easily have happened and mixed it in with events happening now in all parts of the world.
The time connections that wove the past and present events together made for an interesting thriller, showing us what had happened in the past and many of the reasons why, before revealing which of the possible suspects was the right one, admit this had me guessing.
This book tackles some difficult subjects but does it in a way to educate and inform rather than to sensationalise. Having read all of the Authors other books this did not fail to please and I am looking forward to her next

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Orion publishing for approving me for an ARC of this book.

⌛Told in alternating timelines we are thrown into the lives of Frankie and Brigid. These two women faced many obstacles throughout the story and went from strength to strength. Frankie’s relationship with her daughter Izzy gave a different insight into parenting, that I’ve not seen as much.

💨You could feel the tension from the start as a sense of impending doom settled over the story. For Brigid, it was the fear of what would happen to her and her unborn child. with Frankie, it was the fear of what she might uncover.

💥The story pattered along at a steady pace but quickly built up to an explosive end, with all the drama. While I had predicted some twists, I enjoyed how everything unravelled.

⭐Set against the stunning backdrop of Orcade’s Island, The Only Child is a beautiful exploration of motherhood, family dynamics and hidden secrets.

A lot about mother and baby homes in ireland, first one I have read about in the USA.
Fascinated by the home itself and the dreadful cruelty inflicted on the young mother's by the nuns who ran the home, their only aim was to deliver the babies and put them into childless Christian families. Brigid is one of the girls with an unwanted pregnancy, she is disowned by her family and sent to a home in Puget Sound, a remote island. The girls interned there, work hard and support one another.
In The present day Frankie arrives at the island to help her Mother with the conversion of the former home to a luxury hotel, she also reunites with her daughter Izzy. A murder takes place at the local nursing home and Frankie can not resist getting involved with the solving of the intricate crime.
A rewarding and sensitive novel, thank you NetGalley and kayte.

It takes real skill as a writer to make a dual timeline work in a book, and it certainly works here, shifting between a Catholic home for unmarried mothers in the 1940s and a more liberal society in 2013. The fact the place itself is the same in both time periods adds interest to the story. Of course, we have all read about the appalling treatment of unwed pregnant girls at the hands of the Catholic Church in the past century, so there was nothing new there, but the characters were believable and their actions all clearly of their time. In the present day, the home, Fairmile, has been purchased by an older woman, who sets about turning it into a seasonal boutique hotel., along with her detective daughter and teenage granddaughter. But why that house? What is the connection? The plot has further interest when an elderly resident of a nursing home nearby is murdered. The connections take a while to become clear, but the story holds the reader’s interest, and the final denouement is mostly unexpected. The writing style was not immediately appealing to this reviewer, but the book held my interest right to the end nonetheless.

Several years ago I read The Botanist’s Daughter by Kayte Nunn which I loved but since then she has somehow gone under my reading radar. But when given the opportunity to read The Only Child I jumped at the chance as it sounded like an intriguing and interesting read. It’s vastly different from The Botanist’s Daughter which was pure historical fiction set solely in the past. Here the plot moves back and forth between the past and present and the dual timeline worked very well in moving the story forward at a good pace whilst bringing the two strands together to a very satisfying conclusion.
Despite the historical elements throughout the book I did feel the blurb made it slightly misleading not in terms of the content for that was accurate but more so that I would market this as more of a crime/ thriller. For a murder is at the heart of the story which in turn opens up a whole plethora of secrets that someone didn’t want coming to the fore whilst at the same time perhaps revenge and seeking retribution or misdemeanours and suffering are at the heart and mind of someone’s motivations and actions.

I found the story to be well plotted although the pace did dip a bit in the middle before picking up speed in the last quarter or so. It was an enjoyable read with a who done it and why at its centre but as the layers are peeled back, an even deeper and more meaningful story is exposed of a time when women’s rights when it came to their bodies were virtually non existent and societal pressures meant the right and just outcome wasn’t always chosen for those that deserved. A brief prologue sets the tone as a woman is digging in the garden of a convent. The convent shelters sinful girls who have brought shame on their families as perceived by society but in reality many just got themselves into a mess and weren’t given the proper supports or an option to do what they wished or felt was right. The girls were supposedly relieved of their perceived sins when they gave birth and the babies were then adopted to good upstanding American Catholic families. But the question remains why is the woman digging and what is the background surrounding the object she places in the hole? I had previously read several books set in mother and baby homes in Ireland but never in America and to be honest I was quite surprised that this inhumane and upsetting practice occurred there. The more detail we are given as the story develops the more my eyes were opened to what went on in these homes and how unjust, cruel and unfair the whole thing was and what ridiculous beliefs were held by the nuns and so many Catholic families.

Fast forward to 2013 and Frankie Gray has arrived back to the island that her mother calls home. Her mother has bought Fairmile house and is doing it up and turning it into a bed and breakfast. Frankie has several weeks before she begins her new job as a police deputy. She is hoping to spend that time with her daughter Izzy giving them a chance to reconnect. It was several chapters before the current set up/ relationship or history between the pair was fully explained. I felt like statements were made that made me feel as if I had missed out on entire paragraphs or pages so I would have liked some clarification much earlier on instead of trying to fill in the gaps so to speak. Izzy lives with her father and I found this to be an unusual set up in that it’s normally usually the children who remain with their mother following a breakup but Frankie seemed an independent person recovering from her own trauma. Now that Izzy is on the island for a significant length of time she hopes they can reconnect and work through their issues and specifically she wants to elevate the guilt she feels at having missed out on so much in Izzy’s life. The bonds have been stretched to breaking point and hopefully the summer will strengthen them.

Little does Frankie realise that upon visiting her grandmother at the local nursing home that her summer plans may not be that peaceful after all. An elderly nun is found dead in her room. Bernadette Evans is the victim and the curious side of Frankie is sparked and she truly becomes dogged and extremely inquisitive especially when another twist occurs as a tiny skeleton is discovered in the grounds of Fairmile house. Frankie, won’t let sleeping dogs lie as she is determined to discover who killed Bernadette and why and how did a skeleton end up in the garden of the house her mother is trying to turn into a happy place? The story really takes on a creepy and unsettling feeling as subtle and somewhat unnerving warnings are given to Frankie to keep her nose out of other people’s business but to me Frankie was like a dog with a bone. Once she got her hands on something she wasn’t going to let it go. I found the plot was written in such a way that you suspected different people at different stages and at one point I thought oh I have this all worked out and the reasons for the murder and really where does the story have to go now? But I was completely wrong and I have to admit I still feel several weeks after finishing the book extremely guilty that I laid the blame firmly at someone’s door and I couldn’t have been ore wrong if I tried.

The story of the past was set in 1949 as a priest arranges for a local girl to be sent to a home for fallen women. The name of the young girl is never given and with each turn of the page you are kept guessing as to who it could be and how does said person slot into the story in the present? Again, my mind ran wild as to who it could be and I really was barking up the wrong tree with my guesses. But that’s what’s great about this book. There are so many dots to join and puzzle pieces to slot into place that you are kept on your toes throughout and left guessing until the last possible moment. A broad range of issues and emotions are tackled throughout and a light is shone on the girls time in the home. The cruelty of the nuns and their lack of care, love or any form of affection is evident.

So many girls were virtually abandoned by their families and left to live in anguish and fear at a time when they should have been looking forward to the birth of their baby no matter how they came to be in that situation. The girls were shamed by society and viewed as pariahs. They were offered no protection and the work they were forced to do at the homes and the psychological insults and physical harm inflicted doesn’t bare thinking about. How could women and men inspired to live a Godly life harbour such awful beliefs and inflict such malice, barbarity and torture on those who were going through a difficult and challenging time without further anguish and hardship being added to their lives? The sections set at Fairmile during the young girls time there were detailed and harrowing but as friendships form in the worst of circumstances you hope some form of hope and resilience can persist.

The Only Child is a book that you won’t forget in a hurry. I think despite knowing what went on in these homes in Ireland I would have been somehow less shockable and immune to some of the things I read about but its thanks to the writing and a gripping tale that I wasn’t and I appreciated the themes explored. All in all this was a great read despite the tough subject matter and I loved the fact there was the crime element which forges the link between past and present. It was a quick read for me as I was so keen to discover all the answers just as Frankie was and it’s a book I would definitely recommend. I hope Kayte Nunn decides to write something else in this vein in the future because it was twisty and clever whilst at the same time highlighting many important issues.

“It never occurred to her that it was unfair. That something so quick, so fleeting, could have such catastrophic consequences. That Robert got off scot-free and that her life, her future, was ruined.”

My thanks to the Orion Publishing Group for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Only Child’ by Kayte Nunn.

In 1949 a pregnant sixteen-year-old arrives at Fairmile, a home for 'fallen women' run by the Catholic Church on Orcades Island in Puget Sound.

In 2013 Frankie Gray has recently returned from Australia and is spending her summer on Orcades Island. She works in law enforcement and in September she will become the new deputy sheriff. However, before then she hopes to use the summer to reconnect with her teenage daughter, Izzy. They are both staying with her mother, Diana, who has purchased Fairmile and is renovating it as a luxury inn.

Then two events occur: an elderly former nun is found dead in suspicious circumstances at the residential home where Frankie’s grandmother, Ingrid, lives and a tiny skeleton is discovered in the grounds of Fairmile house. Frankie goes in search of answers.

The narrative moves between 1949 and 2013 and in due course secrets are uncovered and mysteries solved. While technically ‘The Only Child’ is crime fiction, I would class it as women’s fiction with mystery elements.

Kayte Nunn writes in the Acknowledgements that while Orcades Island and Fairmile are fictional there were real life facilities in the United States during the postwar period. I have read novels about the Irish Magdalene Laundries, but was unaware that similar institutions existed in the USA.

Overall, while I had began reading with expectations of more crime and investigation, I did find ‘The Only Child’ a slow burn, character-led novel that focused on the legacy of the mother and baby homes and the heartbreak faced by unwed mothers. It was a moving novel even if not quite my cup of tea.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Loved it!

The story centres around a house, Fairmile near Seattle. In the present day it is being restored to be used as a guest house, but in the 1940s and 1950s it was used to house unwed teenage girls by the Catholic Church, who would then give their babies up for adoption to good, married couples.

The story flits between the present and past and as such it feels like a quick paced read. The characters are interesting and likeable. The story is gripping. A brilliant read again by Kayte Nunn.

Thank you, Orion, for a copy of The Only child by Kayte Nunn is a Historical Fiction and also a thriller. Set in dual times in 1949 and 2013.

This is a heart-breaking story of how badly the Roman Catholic Church treated those who, often because of the actions of others, fell out of grace. It tears my heart to shreds when I read of the lack of compassion. Once you move beyond the failures of the past, this novel becomes a who-done-it drama. The characters are real and the plot keeps you guessing as it twists its way through events in 1949 and in 2013. And well, an ending which you do not expect.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book - the reader will be well rewarded.

It's well written but it didn't keep my attention and the story fell flat.
Not my cup of tea
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I found the overall gist of the book was to tell the same sad story we’ve heard many times but give it a fresh perspective did work. What failed for me was the development of the characters particularly in the present timeline group.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for this awesome book

a duel time line 1949 and 2013 based around fairmile, in 1949 it was run as a home for fallen women by the catholic church and in 2013 it was being turned into a guest house

though this story is fiction it is based on actual history there were places for young girls to go to in shame forced away from their families to have their babies, they could only return once the babies were given away most of the time they were forced to give up them up for adoption and then they could go home, bringing no shame on their families

diana is turning fairmile into a guest house and is hoping to change to atmosphere of the place into something happier and a place that will remembered for happier times

but its the discovery of skeletal remains in the garden that start the threatening notes being left at their home warning them to stop what they are doing..

oh my goodness i was gripped by this book and couldnt put it down....both storylines had me gripped in the horrors of their time, brilliantly woven together

loved how this author wrote, i fell into this book and didnt want to surface who needs sleep or food....will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors works

The description for this novel really drew me in and I think I was expecting more of a mystery/thriller then it turned out to be. It felt much more of a family saga then a mystery. I felt that the story set in 1949 could have been much more developed it seemed to spend ages with nothing much happening then suddenly it was all over. A real shame as I felt that bit could have been the best part. It was an enjoyable read but instead of it being a 5 star I feel a 3 is more accurate as lots of the potential story areas were not well developed. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book.

This dual timeline story takes us between 1949 and 2013 to explore the strength and importance of the mother/child bond in both eras. Set in the USA, the 1949 timeline follows Brigid, a pregnant teenager sent to an unmarried mothers' home run by Catholic nuns, where she and the other girls are expected to give up their babies for adoption. The more recent years follow policewoman Frankie Gray as she joins her mother at Fairmile, the house she's bought to turn into a boutique hotel, the house that was once a home for unmarried mothers ...
As the two stories draw together, there's drama of different sorts - Frankie has to solve the murder of an old nun at the nursing home where her own grandmother now resides; Brigid has to somehow outwit the nuns and find a way to keep her baby.
Both threads of the story are equally compelling, with strong emotions at the heart of each, and parallels between Brigid and Frankie, who has recently reunited with her teenage daughter after an absence of several years.
The story's powerful opening shows a nun burying a small bundle in the snow-covered ground of Fairmile - it's obvious to the reader what it must be, and it draws you immediately into the book. I particularly liked the 1949 thread - I felt so much empathy for the girls, and author Kayte Nunn never caricatures the nuns as unholy devils, nor makes the girls' existence wholly unpleasant. It's very convincing and moving.
The more recent years story is intriguing, as we know there must be something that links Frankie to the past. She's an interesting character, a typical woman who once felt obliged to try to have it all, with sad consequences. Like Brigid, she has mistakes to atone for, and bonds to rebuild, with her daughter, her mother and her grandmother.
In the interest of both stories, the murder almost becomes secondary - but then the tension ramps up nicely again, to a very satisfactory conclusion.

Present day and Frankie moves to Fairmile House on Orcade Island to assist her mother Diana in renovating the old house with a view to using as a B & B. She also wishes to be closer to her ailing grandmother who's living in a local nursing home.
But soon after arriving an elderly resident is found murdered.
In the 1940's Fairmile House was used for young girls who found themselves alone and pregnant. Treated harshly by the nuns who run it the girls stick together for support.
I found this was a slow burn drama rather than a thriller but enjoyable all the same. I found myself more invested in the past storyline than the present. Very enjoyable read nonetheless

Almost every graduating class had a girl who disappeared.

1949: It is the coldest winter Orcades Island has ever known, when a pregnant sixteen-year-old arrives at Fairmile, a home for "fallen women" run by the Catholic church. She and her baby will disappear before the snow melts.

2013: Frankie Gray has come to the island for the summer, hoping for one last shot at reconnecting with her teenage daughter, Izzy, before starting a new job as a deputy sheriff. They are staying with her mother, Diana at the Fairmile Inn, soon to be a boutique hotel, but when a Nun is found dead in suspicious circumstances, and then a tiny skeleton is found in the grounds of the house, Frankie is desperate for answers.

The story goes back and forth between 1949 and 2013. We have four generations of women - Bridgid - the great grandmother, Diana - the grandmother, Frankie - the mother and Izzy - the daughter. The story is told from two perspectives, Brigid in 1949 and Frankie in 2013. Both women have something in common - Fairmile. They both see the house with different opinions. I liked the authors writing style. The story is easy to follow and quick to read, but it can also be heartbreaking. The ending was good, but it didn't surprise me. Everything was neatly tied up at the end.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #OrionPublishingGroup and the author #KayteNunn for my ARC of #TheOnlyChild in exchange for an honest review.